Coastside Community School Backpack Drive… a HUGE success!

The Backpack Drive, led by Holy Family Episcopal Church continues to help Coastside children prepare for school every year. This year we helped 464 students with new high-quality backpacks and a large shopping tote filled with school supplies. Holy Families’ deepening partnership with Coastside Hope continues to pay great benefits. The drive utilized Coastside Hope’s warehouse to stuff totes full of school supplies, and Coastside Hope’s offices in El Granada were used as the distribution point. Coastside Hope managed the signups of school children as they have for many years.

Each child received a new quality backpack, a tote filled to the brim with school supplies, and as many children’s books as they wanted thanks to the Library, the Friends of the Library, and the Coastside Mothers Club. It costs about $60 a child to do this. We buy in bulk, so we maximize what each child can receive. A parent trying to duplicate what we do would easily spend twice that amount.

This is truly a community effort. Groups involved include the Episcopal Impact fund, Abundant Grace Coastside Worker, the National Charity League Coastside Chapter, the Half Moon Bay Library, the Friends of the Library, Community Methodist Church, Coastside Lutheran Church, Coastside Jewish Community, the Coastside Women’s Club, the Coastside Mothers Club, the Rotary Club, the Lions Club and other community groups These groups all contributed funds and people power to help in raising funds, purchasing school supplies and backpacks, helping fill totes with school supplies and helping distribute the backpacks and supplies.

As this year’s drive concludes, work on next year’s drive begins, as we purchase backpacks and supplies year-round to take advantage of sales. Grant writing and fundraising to support this effort continues as well.

The Coastside community has supported this effort since its inception in 1998. Next year will be the 28th year of this community effort!